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Pricing, Advertising, and Market Structure with Frictions

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  • Gomis-Porqueras, Pedro
  • Julien, Benoit
  • Wang, Chengsi

Abstract

This paper develops a model of pricing and advertising in a matching environment with capacity constrained sellers and uncoordinated buyers. Sellers' search intensity attracts buyers only probabilistically through costly informative advertisement. Equilibrium prices and profit maximizing advertising levels are derived and their properties analyzed. The model generates an inverted U-shape relationship between individual advertisement and market tightness which is robust to alternative advertising technologies. The well known empirical fact in the IO literature reflects the trade-off between price and market tightness-matching effects. Finally, in this environment we can alleviate the discontinuity problem, allowing for unique symmetric equilibrium price to be derived.

Suggested Citation

  • Gomis-Porqueras, Pedro & Julien, Benoit & Wang, Chengsi, 2010. "Pricing, Advertising, and Market Structure with Frictions," MPRA Paper 25942, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    • Handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:25942
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Raymond Deneckere & James Peck, 1995. "Competition Over Price and Service Rate When Demand is Stochastic: A Strategic Analysis," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 26(1), pages 148-162, Spring.
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    4. Kenneth Burdett & Shouyong Shi & Randall Wright, 2001. "Pricing and Matching with Frictions," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 109(5), pages 1060-1085, October.
    5. Benjamin Lester, 2011. "Information and Prices with Capacity Constraints," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 101(4), pages 1591-1600, June.
    6. Schmalensee, Richard, 1989. "Inter-industry studies of structure and performance," Handbook of Industrial Organization, in: R. Schmalensee & R. Willig (ed.), Handbook of Industrial Organization, edition 1, volume 2, chapter 16, pages 951-1009, Elsevier.
    7. Peters, Michael, 1991. "Ex Ante Price Offers in Matching Games Non-steady States," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 59(5), pages 1425-1454, September.
    8. George Norman & Lynne Pepall & Dan Richards, 2008. "Generic Product Advertising, Spillovers, and Market Concentration," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 90(3), pages 719-732.
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    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Directed searching; Advertising; Pricing; Market structure;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • L11 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Production, Pricing, and Market Structure; Size Distribution of Firms
    • L13 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Oligopoly and Other Imperfect Markets
    • M37 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Marketing and Advertising - - - Advertising

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